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When you’re writing, say your words out loud before settling on a final draft.

Everyone knows this, right? Whether we want to be known as the office loon, is another matter. In a busy work environment, you might feel a bit foolish suddenly speaking what you’re writing, but it is hugely helpful when sense checking and proofreading what you’ve written.

Mumble it, mutter it or splutter it.

Far better to seem like madness is setting in than make a mistake. Remember, grammar is there to be respected but sometimes the vernacular is necessary when writing good copy. If your copy is too stilted, it won’t sound natural or conversational and will actually turn customers off.

Good English or good copy?

Grammar pedants aren’t always right when it comes to critiquing the written word. This is where a good copywriter can bridge the gap between writing compelling sales copy and correct use of English. For example, in spite of what your teacher may have said, starting sentences with ‘and’ or ‘so’ is permissible. But we all know this, right?

So if we know so much, why is writing great copy, so difficult? Unfortunately, some things can’t be taught. You’ve either got a knack for it, or you haven’t. When it comes to your business, it’s this knack that brings results. And that’s where I come in.

Get in touch if you need a copywriter to bring some copy magic to your communications. I’d love to hear from you.

Nothing says ‘Happy New Year’ like a good grammar debate about syntax. I’m sure other copywriters will agree, the use of the term New Year can be a total room 101 moment.

So, should it be new year or New Year when it comes to good grammar? Should you capitalise New Year or should you keep it in lower case?

The answer is in the context.

If you use a greeting, followed by the downtrodden exclamation mark – yes, it is still good grammar to use one! – then you should use uppercase lettering.

For example: “Hi Jane, Happy New Year!”

But if you are talking generally about the new year, it should be lower case. Do not mix your cases! I’ve seen this a lot on Twitter recently and it’s guaranteed to turn every grammar pedant purple. No ‘Happy new Year’, please!

It’s a Proper Noun, dude…

The reason is that the New Year in ‘Happy New Year!’ acts as a proper noun and as such should be capitalised. When it is a common noun (usually preceded by an indefinite article or ‘a’) it is lower case, just like every other common noun.

…but it’s not always proper

But if you’re talking about ‘the new year’, this is where it gets a bit more tricky. Because you’re using the definite article. If the reference is talking about the actual event of New Year’s, it should be upper case, e.g. “The New Year’s performance was given by Robbie Williams.”

When common, think lower case

However, if you’re saying “Spend over £50 in the new year and earn more points”, it should be lower case, because it’s talking about the new year in general and includes more than one day in the reference.

And there we have it. Your copywriting new year lesson in how to suck eggs in 2017. Have a happy, healthy new year and remember, a rolling stone gathers no moss. So tap me up for some freelance copywriting. Or if you need any freelance tea making, I can handle that too.

Our work hits the right notes

When you hire a freelancer, you need the work – in my case the copywriting – to be right first time. I’m happy to take on board comments and work with you in a true partnership – which sadly isn’t always the case for some more precious personalities. Ultimately, I think a collaborative process is best for all involved. After all, if you’re an account manager, the chances are you’ve had direct access to the client so you’ve already walked a mile in their shoes, seen inside their brains and so on and so forth. No clichés here, honest.

Simply put, we work hard

As a freelancer, I know I’m only as good as my last job. If I don’t do good work, I won’t get invited back. So I always put as much effort as possible into every job – and not just because I want repeat business, but because I love it. I take pride in my work and that’s probably why I love freelancing. I’m not one for water cooler chat as I don’t like to waste time. It interrupts the thinking process too much. And while I might look like I’m staring out of the window at times, really it’s all going on inside. But my face does look funny when I do this, so it’s worth getting me in just to see that.

You don’t have to take us to the Christmas party

If I get an invite, I’m there with bells on. But I won’t expect it. And my skin is thick enough if you want to talk about your night up the Shard. I can handle it. And I’ll even be a confidant when you want to tell me that really ‘bad’ thing that happened that you just can’t keep inside…

We will always laugh at your jokes

This makes me sound a bit disingenuous, but actually it just means that I’m grateful if you even speak to me. I know that I’m there to work hard and get on with the job in hand. So, like the Queen, I know what to say and crucially, when to stop. But really, I’m happy to have people around me, because when you often work at home and you’ve been asked to help out, you’re usually just happy to be there. Does that sound a bit too desperate?!

We don’t take up much space

Sometimes I work with my laptop in tow, sometimes not. I’ll sit wherever you put me and I only use a bit of electricity. And a few tea bags. I don’t cost you National Insurance, sick or holiday pay or in many cases, lunch breaks. In fact, you’ll hardly know I’m there. Except when it matters.

So go on, see if I rock today (not just backwards and forwards). Get some tippytastic copywriting resource today. Email me now at ktltaylor@me.com

Oh if we had a pound for every client who wants to sound more like ‘Innocent’. All the country’s copywriters would now be installed on a sun lounger in Jamaica, sipping freshly squeezed tropical fruit drinks from a coconut. Take that Innocent Towers, now owned by Coke!

When brands talk the talk

When a brand is strong enough to know exactly who its audience is and where they want to be, they don’t have to try to mimic their competitors. Today’s audiences want disruption: they’re hungry for it – hell, they expect it. With media clutter at an all time high, it’s going to be a strong voice that cuts through the chatter. So if you sound just like everybody else, how can you make sure your marketing spend is being heard?

When a brand knows what it wants to say and how it wants to act, its tone of voice is a pleasure to devise. The hard part is standing out from the pack as you implement it. Consistency and a well thought out application is key. A great ad campaign needs to be supported at every channel with the same approach to well-thought-through messaging. For example, there’s no point being the no-nonsense supermarket in town if your website is completely baffling and beyond user friendly.

Nice words, but is anyone listening?

If marketers can apply a consistently strong tone of voice, consumers will take notice. One false step however, and it could all blow up in your face. So attention to detail is key, and now that everyone is a commentator, it’s more important than ever to ensure your copywriter is on it – all over it, in fact. We all write tweets and compose Facebook updates. But when it comes to your copy, let’s ponder on a wise marketer’s words: ‘just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.’

With the right mix of creative strategy and strong writing, there’s no reason why a brand can’t take bold steps to stand out from the pack. It just has to be brave and ditch the obsession with Fruit Towers. Who’s doing it well? Aldi, Lurpak, First Direct and Virgin spring to mind, but there are a host of startups getting in on the act, like Propercorn popcorn and Fever-Tree, a premium drinks brand. I could go on. I won’t.

It’s that time of year, isn’t it? No, I don’t mean the lurgies, I mean the endless comparisons between Christmas adverts bursting forth on our screens. Unavoidable clashes of colour, noise and sometimes, if we’re very lucky, daring marketing decisions.

Storytelling is always key in copywriting, and using literal fabled characters from children’s literature only brings this into sharper view. So should we judge an ad by its budget or by its familiarity (as many of us dust off our childhood copies of Mog), or even by its ability to make us cry?

That’s the beauty of a good story, isn’t it? We make of it what we want. Who doesn’t love a big idea? But what feels really clever to me, is a killer line. Not a shoehorned line that happily matches up to a big idea, but a line that was born with the idea. I like to see a copywriter taking their idea by the adjectives, the sleight of hand, the alliteration or the very punch of that eureka moment and turn it into something fantastic.

An ad is only as good as its proposition of course; there are lots of other stars that must align to make it brilliant, like the strength of the agency, the marketing department, compliance, budgets, lead times and so on. Anyway, that said, people have to like what you make.

“Christmas is for sharing – Sainsbury’s supports child literacy. Save the Children”
This is the follow up from last year’s trenches advert for Sainsbury’s. Last year, we were supporting the Royal British Legion, this year it’s Save the Children. Cue massive shoehorn time – perhaps they borrowed one from John Lewis?

“All your favourite things”
Simple, catchy, festive. A great family tune AND a killer line. Nice work Aldi.

“Whatever makes your Christmas, make it with Waitrose”
Ooohhhh. May I sigh in wonderment for a moment? Look at the way they’ve used the same word twice and got away with it! *rubs thighs*

“Show someone they’re loved this Christmas”
Nice line as lines go, but is the insight actually quite right? I mean, really right? The link I made is that we need to spend money to show people we care, and quite frankly, that doesn’t sit so well. So…no prizes for guessing the ad.

What do you think, fair reader?! Any more great lines out there? Feel free to share and comment below. Meanwhile…Happy bloomin’ November!

Every now and again, a good copywriter has to question their grammatical knowledge. We all do. Particularly in this age of spell checks and grammar tools on Word etc. It’s so easy to get a bit stale or question whether you are actually right in your opinion – especially when challenged by an account man (thanks Howard!). So here’s what I brushed up on this week:

Who’s is a contraction of who is and who has.

As a rule, look at the sentence you’re constructing and work out whether ‘who is’ or ‘who has’ is correct. If not, you might be better with ‘whose’, e.g.

“As somebody who’s never been kissed…”

Although less common these days, this means ‘who has’ in this case, so a contracted ‘who’s’ is correct.

Whose is a possessive form meaning ‘of whom’ or ‘belonging to whom’.

It’s also often used with inanimate objects, e.g.

The book, whose jacket had a picture of a pony on it, was dated from the 1950s.